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You are here · Zone B · Key terms

F-80 key terms: the definitions every other section uses

Section 2 of the F-80 Study Material, Definitions and Terminology, fixes the words every other section uses (Source: Study Material §2). In practice questions, a wrong option often uses a real term from that list, just the wrong one: a detector where the stem describes an alarm, relocation where it describes evacuation. Learn the pairs, and those options are easy to strike.

Plan ref B1 concept roomsUpdated October 25, 2026

Who counts as FEP staff

Which group does the Study Material count as FEP staff in a homeless shelter?

  1. AThe owner, the shelter director and the managing agentOut in round 2
  2. BThe coordinator, the deputy coordinator and the fire guardsKeep
  3. CEvery employee on the shift, kitchen and office staff includedOut in round 2
  4. DThe central station operators and the FDNY inspectorOut in round 1
  1. Round 1 — rule out D.FEP staff are people the shelter’s own plan names. An outside company and the FDNY are not on that list.
  2. Round 2 — rule out A and C.The owner starts the plan, but the definition is about the people who carry it out. It names them by role, not as every employee in the building.

Fire and Emergency Preparedness staff are the people the emergency preparedness plan makes responsible for carrying it out. In a shelter, that is the coordinator, the deputy coordinator and the fire guards (Source: Study Material §2). For the movement words, see evacuate, relocate or shelter in place.

Short daily reviews

Definitions stay with you through short, repeated reviews more than one long read. The F-80 flashcards carry section 2 terms front and back, and the F-80 study plan shows where this part of the Study Material fits in your weeks.

Checkpoints for Zone B: Key terms

Checkpoint round

0 of 12 checked · 0 cleared

Practice questions written for study, not taken from the test. The real F-80 is a multiple-choice test on a touch-screen computer at FDNY Headquarters.

Read the options before the stem. Most checkpoints here set a term beside its look-alike; strike the look-alike, then let the stem pick between what is left.

How the checkpoint round works

Read the options first and rule out the ones that break a rule, then pick from what is left. After you answer, the debrief explains every option and scores your strikes. Keys: 1–5 or A–E answer, Shift with a number rules that option out, the arrow keys move.

Checkpoint 1 of 12

  1. Checkpoint 01

    Which of the following conditions makes a fire protection system “out of service” under the Study Material definition?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AA scheduled inspection is routine upkeep; the system stays in service while someone looks it over.
    2. BA reset after the FDNY verifies the condition returns the system to normal; it does not take it out of service.
    3. CThe daily panel check confirms the system is working; looking at a power light impairs nothing.
    4. DCorrect: The Study Material defines an out-of-service system as one that is not fully functional, is impaired, or is otherwise not in good working order.

  2. Checkpoint 02

    According to the Study Material, which stage of a fire begins at the moment of ignition?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AThe free burning stage comes later, once the fire is fully developed.
    2. BCorrect: the incipient (growth) stage is the first stage and starts the moment the fire ignites.
    3. CSmoldering is the last stage, when flames die down; it does not start at ignition.
    4. DFlashover is not one of the three stages listed in the Study Material.

  3. Checkpoint 03

    The entire room and all of its contents are burning, and the fire is rapidly consuming the available fuel. Which stage is this?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AThe incipient stage is the early growth period, before the whole room is fully involved.
    2. BIn the smoldering stage flames have diminished; here the room is fully burning.
    3. CThe Study Material does not name an ignition stage; ignition is only where the first stage starts.
    4. DCorrect: a fully developed fire burning the whole room and its contents is the free burning stage.

  4. Checkpoint 04

    In the smoldering stage, flames diminish but the fire keeps producing smoke and toxic gases. Which gas does the Study Material name in particular?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACarbon dioxide is not the gas the Study Material singles out for a smoldering fire.
    2. BCorrect: the definition names carbon monoxide as the toxic gas a smoldering fire keeps making.
    3. CHydrogen sulfide is not mentioned in the Study Material’s description of the stages of a fire.
    4. DNatural gas is a fuel that can feed a fire, not the gas a smoldering fire gives off.

  5. Checkpoint 05

    According to the Study Material, which three parts make up the fire triangle?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AWater is a way to fight a fire, not one of the parts a fire needs.
    2. BSmoke is something a fire produces; the missing part here is fuel.
    3. CCorrect: fuel, oxygen and heat; take away any one of them and the fire goes out.
    4. DFlame and smoke are results of burning; fuel and oxygen are missing.

  6. Checkpoint 06

    A device in a client room senses smoke, has its own sounder and battery, and is not connected to any system. What is it called?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: a self-contained smoke-sensing unit that is not connected to a system is a smoke alarm.
    2. BA smoke detector is connected to the fire alarm control panel; this device is not.
    3. CA heat detector senses high temperature or a fast rise in temperature, not smoke.
    4. DA carbon monoxide alarm is also self-contained, but it responds to carbon monoxide, not smoke.

  7. Checkpoint 07

    When the coordinator uses the keyed switch for Phase I emergency elevator recall, what do the elevator cars do?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. APhase I does not stop cars at the nearest floor; it sends them to the lobby or sky lobby.
    2. BThe recall is non-stop, so the cars do not pick up anyone on the way down.
    3. CPhase I moves the cars; it does not hold them in place.
    4. DCorrect: the cars return non-stop to the lobby or sky lobby and do not open their doors on the way.

  8. Checkpoint 08

    An elevator car is switched to Phase II “Firemen Service.” When will its doors open?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: on Firemen Service the doors move only while the person in the car presses “door open.”
    2. BAutomatic door opening is normal service; Phase II puts the doors under manual control.
    3. CPhase II overrides the landing call buttons, so a hall button cannot open the doors.
    4. DSending cars back to the lobby is what Phase I recall does; Phase II is manual control from inside the car.

  9. Checkpoint 09

    Which of these fits the Study Material definition of a non-fire emergency?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AA burning mattress is a fire, so it is handled as a fire emergency.
    2. BA drill is a training exercise, not an emergency of any kind.
    3. CCorrect: a chemical incident or release is the first item in the non-fire emergency definition.
    4. DA trouble signal reports a fault in the alarm system; it calls for repair, not an emergency response.

  10. Checkpoint 10

    A shelter’s fire alarm system has been placed “off-line.” What does that mean?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AOff-line is about the signal to the Fire Department; the panel and devices in the building stay on.
    2. BCorrect: at the owner’s request, the central station stops passing the building’s alarms to the Fire Department.
    3. CA system that is not in good working order is out of service; off-line is a different idea.
    4. DSilencing is done with the alarm silence switch; it does not stop the signal to the central station.

  11. Checkpoint 11

    Which system lets staff on the fire floor talk back to the person at the fire command center in the lobby?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: In two-way voice both sides can talk; warden phones, usually near the exit stairs, let staff report conditions from the fire floor.
    2. BOne-way voice only sends announcements out from the lobby; nobody on a floor can answer through it.
    3. CA remote annunciator only shows alarm, supervisory and trouble conditions; it carries no voice.
    4. DThe transmitter sends alarm signals out to the central station; it is not a way for staff to talk.

  12. Checkpoint 12

    In the F-80 Study Material, what does the word “should” generally refer to?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AThat describes “shall,” which generally marks a requirement of the Fire Code or the FDNY.
    2. BCorrect: “Should” marks policies, procedures and best practices the FDNY recommends, which may not be codified requirements.
    3. C“Should” has nothing to do with building height; it marks a recommendation anywhere in the Study Material.
    4. D“Should” is not limited to drills, and it marks a recommendation, not a requirement.

Terms in the Study Material’s own wording

Building occupants
Everyone in the shelter: employees, clients, staff and visitors.
Shelter clients
The people who live in the homeless shelter.
Fire guard
A Certificate of Fitness holder trained to keep a fire watch and do other fire safety duties. Helps evacuate occupants and reports violations to the coordinator.
Evacuation
Emptying the building of all occupants.
Partial evacuation
Emptying the building of some, but not all, occupants.
In-building relocation
The controlled movement of occupants from an endangered area to a relocation area inside the same building.
In-building relocation area (IBRA)
The place in the building, named in the plan, where occupants are moved to.
Shelter in place
Directing occupants to stay indoors, where they are.
Central station company
A company that receives alarm signals from the building and passes them on to the FDNY.
Fire protection system
Devices and systems that deter, detect, control or put out a fire, or manage its smoke. Fire alarm, sprinkler and standpipe systems are examples.
Unnecessary alarm
The system worked as designed, but an FDNY response turned out not to be needed.
Unwarranted alarm
The system did not work as designed, for example after poor installation, poor maintenance or a malfunction.
One-way voice communication
Announcements from the fire command center to all parts of the building. Shelters usually have this kind.
Public address system
A microphone, amplifier and loudspeakers that let one person speak to the whole building, usually from the lobby.
Shall
In the Study Material, generally a requirement of the Fire Code or the FDNY.
Owner
Anyone who owns or controls the property, a managing agent included. The owner answers for safe maintenance and for correcting violations.

Pairs that sound alike

Alarm or detector

The Study Material keeps these two words apart. An alarm is self-contained: its own sensor, its own sounder, its own power, and no connection to a system. A detector is connected to the fire alarm control panel. Carbon monoxide shows the pattern: a CO alarm stands alone, and a CO detector reports to the panel (Source: Study Material §2). Smoke devices follow the same split.

The three stages of a fire

Section 2 numbers them. The incipient stage is first, the growth stage. Free burning is second, the fully developed fire. Smoldering is third, the decay stage, when oxygen runs short (Source: Study Material §2). Staff training covers the same three (Source: Study Material §6.1).

The fire triangle

A fire needs fuel, oxygen and heat to keep burning. Remove any one and the fire goes out (Source: Study Material §2). Training on the triangle is part of FEP staff training (Source: Study Material §6.1).

Phase I and Phase II

Both are elevator modes the coordinator must be able to perform (Source: Study Material §2). Phase I is recall: a keyed switch brings the cars back to the lobby or sky lobby. Phase II is in-car operation: the car switch goes to “Firemen Service” and only a person inside the car can run it. An option that mixes a lobby key with in-car control has merged the two phases.

Off-line

A system may go off-line only for FDNY purposes tied to preventing unnecessary and unwarranted alarms (Source: Study Material §2). A drill is the usual case. Why those two alarm types are different, and why it matters, is on unnecessary vs unwarranted alarms.

Shall and should

These verbs carry weight. “Shall” generally marks a requirement of the Fire Code or the FDNY, and section 2 defines “should” right after it (Source: Study Material §2). When an option sounds like a sentence from the Study Material, check which of the two verbs that sentence used.

Where the rule is written

Concept rooms off Zone B

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